


The Arms of a Traitor

by androidkisser



Category: NieR: Automata (Video Game)
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Masturbation, Suffering, Thighs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-11-02 08:48:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10941045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/androidkisser/pseuds/androidkisser
Summary: 9S is stranded, cut off from everyone. Can anyone keep him safe?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Aah, this took me so long... and then I marathoned more than 80% of it in one day, ahah ( ´ ∀ `)  
> I have brain problems ( ´ ∀ `)
> 
> So anyway, my greatest challenge writing this was to make sure that this was entirely feasible - and entirely natural feeling, too.  
> I really, genuinely think these two could make each other happy, and so I had to do them justice as best as I could.
> 
> The beginning is set a few weeks after 2B and 9S fight with A2 inside the Forest Kingdom castle, so well before anything real bad went down.  
> Again, I know it isn't 2B/9S, but I feel like their story is mostly written now (and I'm honestly a little burned out on them after finishing my last fic). I also made sure it wasn't some kind of weird-ass NTRing 2B story either, you'll see what I mean.
> 
> Thanks for reading this disclaimer, and please leave a comment if you enjoyed it or have criticism!

Circumstance and coincidence led them to each other. She came across him surrounded by machines, fighting a losing battle. He was hopelessly trying to protect a totally destroyed flight unit, and standing over a YoRHa support Pod that had been cleaved clean in two. He clearly had no real capability to wield his sword, either. She drew closer, and he saw her out of the corner of his eye; he shouted at her, frantically.

“ _A2!_ ”

She just stood there, looking at him.

“I don't have time for whatever you're about to say,” she said, in a low voice.

“I don't – _ngh_ – I'm not going to try anything! _Please_!” He was starting to look like he'd just collapse at any moment – she didn't even know how long he'd been fighting for. He didn't look like he'd be any threat to her right now, either.

 _Well,_ she thought, _he's the lesser of two evils here, I guess._

The boy watched, with barely contained awe, as she cut down his foes in front of him in what felt like an instant. They had barely even gotten a chance to register her presence.

As she sheathed her weapons on her back and turned to walk away without a single word, he called out to her.

“Wait! D-don't go yet!”

She sighed. “What is it, kid?”

“I'm not a kid – anyway, that's not important!”

“What is, then?” she repeated, eyeing him up and down.

“There's more coming, and they're all equipped with EMPs,” he said, panting. “If you don't get out of here too, you'll – you'll end up the same way!”

“Speak for yourself,” she scoffed, turning away again.

“I'm _serious,_ A2! If they'd known you were here, you'd –”

“You really don't know when to shut up, do you?”

“I –”

“Look,” she said, losing her patience a little. “Not that it's any of your concern, but I didn't plan to stick around anyway. I was passing through, and heard you screaming like a girl, so I got curious. I'll be out of here soon. You can stop talking, now.”

9S didn't seem to be listening. His eyes were on the distant trees.

“Oh... oh no, they're here – they must have transmitted our position!”

“ _Our_? Oh no, you're on your own this time,” she said, decidedly irritated at this point.

“For the love of – look, just come with me, we'll get somewhere safe, and then you can call me a little girl until your throat goes dry,” he pleaded, extending his hand to her.

“Fine,” she said. Despite everything, she really didn't feel like dealing with machines like that right now. She ignored his hand, breaking into a run as she passed him by. “Hurry up, then, kid!”

“ _I'm not a –_ fine, whatever,” he said, casting a final look back at his flight unit, and what remained of Pod 153.

_I'm sorry... I couldn't..._

9S shook his head free of those thoughts, trying to keep up with her pace.

 

**

 

It had been a simple reconnaissance mission – go back to the forest while 2B was in maintenance, and monitor the machines' reactions to their king's death.

Boring. Easy. Below him.

He landed his flight unit in a clearing far away from the castle, on the opposite side of the forest. There was a distinct lack of machine lifeform presence – no groups of them sparring, or practising their spear thrusts, or going through military drills. It was a welcome relief, and he felt like he was actually able to enjoy the serenity and beauty of the forest this time.

How wrong he was.

Did he land the flight unit too close to a group of them? Had they known he was coming?

Whatever the reason was, they caught him entirely unaware and unprepared. Pod 153 warned him that there were hostiles approaching his flight unit, and so his first reaction was to run straight back to it. Command wouldn't be happy if they had to send _another_ one down for his return.

As he approached it, he almost laughed – it was just a small group of tiny, stubby machines, with pathetic little arms, and –

He realised it too late. Their heads rose from their bodies, and then he saw it – the EMP units fitted to their bodies. He felt a wave of agony wash over his entire body, and he struggled to stay upright.

“Alert: additional enemy units are –”

He never got to hear the end of that sentence, as an axe sliced through the air beside him, and cut the Pod in half.

“ _153!_ ” he screamed. There was no response.

He felt helpless – half of his systems were unusable, and he could only just barely swing his sword limply; without his hacking module operational, he couldn't even use it in the way he had grown accustomed to, and this felt far too foreign to be of any real use in a combat situation.

He was only vaguely aware of them landing hits on him from all directions, and then he saw her. The deserter, A2.

 

**

 

“Where exactly are we going?” 9S asked, as they took a path through the ruined city.

“You sure do ask a lot of questions for someone that knows they're pissing someone else off,” came the answer. “Somewhere safe, just like you said.”

“Yeah, but _where_?”

“Do you ever shut up? We're here, anyway,” she said.

“What do you mean, 'we're here'? There's nothing...” He followed her gaze upwards, to a ruined apartment. “Oh, right...”

“What, you thought I'd just sleep outside, like some animal?” she scoffed.

“No, it's... never mind.”

“Whatever you say, kid.”

“I'm not –”

“Every time,” she said, smirking.

They made their way upwards, through the ruined complex, until they got to where she had made herself a shelter.

“This... is where you...?”

“Oh, I'm sorry YoRHa boy, is it not up to your standards?”

He pouted, sitting himself on the floor. “That's not what I meant. It's just... it's not much comfort.”

“It's more comfort than out there,” she shrugged. “Anyway, I'm not gonna let you stay here forever, so fix up whatever you need to, and then you can be on your way.”

9S didn't respond.

“I _said_ , and then you can be on your w... are you fucking joking me?”

He was already passed out.

 

**

 

She had decided to keep him around after all, until his precious 2B came to collect him. He never shut up about her, and it irked her. More irksome than that though, was that a week had only just barely passed, and her 'home' had already been assaulted by coordinated groups of flying machines four times. It would've been truly a pain for her to deal with, but 9S made light work of them with his hacking module.

“If you like, I can assemble some kind of a warning system for you... so you'll know they're coming, at least,” he offered.

“Do I have to do anything?”

“No, no, I'll take care of it,” he said.

“Go right ahead then, ki-” she stopped herself short of teasing him, this time. He was doing something... _nice_ for her, and so she could at least respect that much.

 _May as well make use of him while he's here_ , she reasoned.

 

**

 

A week turned into a month, and the month quickly turned into three. There was no sign of any kind of a rescue, and 9S was starting to become despondent.

“I just thought... I thought there'd be even _some_ contact, you know?”

“You're still registered, so why don't you just take a transport unit up there?” It was worded coldly, but it didn't sound it.

“That's the thing... I tried, and it just keeps telling me my ID is invalid, and it just boots me right out of the system. Hacking it's no good either, because the system is based on a 'yes' or 'no' entry point, and there's no way to extract anything past that, I tried to collate the –”

A2 was making loud snoring sounds next to him. Evidently, she had brushed up on her human anatomy class as well as he had.

“Yeah, yeah, very funny,” he sighed.

“What about the Resistance camp? Surely they recognise you, right?”

“Again, I tried there when you were away, and they all just... looked at me like I was an alien, or something. They wouldn't even talk to me, it was so weird...”

“C'mon, it's only a matter of time before you run into someone you know, right?”

“What about you? If they see me with you, then –”

“Hmm... just tell them I've been holding you hostage all this time, they'll buy it.”

“Why... would they buy it?”

“Have you seen you?”

He frowned. “Okay, so say they buy it, then what? Then they'll just be all, 'oh, okay 9S, let's take care of the traitor together then!' Did you even think this through?”

“Well, you can just tell them how dangerous I am, and how it'd be a terrible idea, even two on one.”

“You really do think a lot of yourself, don't you...”

“I've got this far,” she stated flatly.

“I guess you've got a point,” he said. “How did it come to this, anyway?”

She paused, then looked at him. He didn't seem to be just asking for the sake of curiosity – she had gotten used to seeing that in his eyes. There wasn't really anything he could gain from telling anyone, nor did she think he would, at this point.

“They – YoRHa – sent me and my team on a suicide mission, just so they could gather data,” she said, quietly. “We were all prototypes, so it didn't matter to them.”

“Oh,” he said. He didn't press the issue.

“Yeah.”

“I'm sorry.”

“Don't be.”

“Do you see me as the same as them? As YoRHa?”

 _What a weird question, even by his standards,_ she thought.

“No,” she said, after a minute or two of looking at him. “You might _be_ YoRHa, but you aren't like the rest of them.”

“I've thought the same too, sometimes,” he said, casting his mind back to being given the order to execute A2 in the forest castle. “Thank you.”

“I'm just saying it how it is. Don't let it go to your head.”

9S smiled. “I won't.”

 

**

 

“Could you at least not swing that so close to me when I'm trying to – _hnn –_ to hack in?!”

“Why don't you ask them nicely to step off then, hacker boy? Then I wouldn't have to!”

Their combat dynamic was... strange, he thought. It had changed over the last few months, too. Whereas at one point she seemed to consider him almost expendable, now she would pull back to defend him from the machines that opted to go for him. It wasn't as if it went unappreciated, but she clearly wasn't used to working around someone else.

They had been forced into a fight with two large Goliath-class machines, that were both intent on destroying the building they had grown to care about. 9S wasn't about to let that happen – not after he'd spent all week carefully recovering something humans had called a 'carpet' from the apartment complex in the desert, just so he wouldn't be quite so pissed off at their living arrangements.

He had succeeded in setting one of them on fire after a particularly drawn out battle inside hacking space, and it was flailing around with its huge piston-like arms.

“I think I might've made it worse...” he said, watching it smash into the concrete walls over and over again.

“Well, fix it!” she shouted back. “I didn't listen to you complaining about how heavy that stupid thing you dragged around for a week was for you to get it burned up now!”

He raised his hands to begin a second attack on it, but as soon as he felt the hack initiating, he heard a scream from A2.

 _Shit_ , he thought, panicking. It wasn't a simple task this time, and he knew if he went for finishing the job, it would probably be too late. There was no way to back out, so he did the only thing he could – deliberately lost the battle, as quickly as he could.

The machine's defenses pushed back hard against him as a result, and he felt some of his circuitry combust on the spot. God, it hurt.

 _No time to worry about that_.

He emerged from his almost trance-like state after leaving hacking space, ignoring the sparks coming from his body, and doing his best to ignore the intense pain. He saw A2 on the ground, her weapon too far away for her to reach; he saw the colossal machine's arm swinging around, ready to crush her into the dirt. He flung himself in front of it, hoping he could initiate a hack in time before it reached her.

It worked – sort of. He felt the connection, but then he heard her scream again, only this time for a different reason. The machine's fist had connected too, except with his body instead of hers. As he was dragged into hacking space, he already knew this was going to hurt afterwards.

 

“...idiot! Wake up, already!”

_Oh, I made it...?_

“Oh, welcome back, you total ass! I took care of them, by the way!”

“...you're... welcome...”

He tried to sit up, but it hurt too much.

“Don't try to move,” she said, her voice suddenly softer. “What the hell did you do that for?”

“It was... going to hit you,” he coughed, “so I...”

“You total idiot...”

“I know,” he grunted, running a quick diagnostic test. No permanent damage, apparently.

“Thank you, though...” she said, avoiding his eyes. “I... took the liberty of re-attaching your arm. It sorta... flew off when you got hit. It might be a bit messed up for a while, I only half know what I'm doing, so...”

“Oh,” he said, closing his eyes.

A2 looked him over. Had he really valued her life over his? Why would he do that? What the hell was his problem? She sighed. She figured she wouldn't know the answer to those questions for a long time.

 

**

 

It had been over a year, now.

 

“Say, um... does it hurt?”

A2 sighed. He still asked so many questions.

“Does what hurt?”

“Losing your dermal plates,” he said, motioning to the black areas on her body where the artificial skin had long since come away.

“Nah.”

“Isn't it uncomfortable now?”

She decided to just play it straight, rather than try to deflect. He'd only ask again later, anyway. “It... well, it got less sensitive, I guess? It's bad at first, because it's not supposed to come off at all, but... you get used to it.”

“I see...” he said, looking at it as if it was the most intensely interesting thing on the planet. “Can I touch it?”

“Can y- what?”

“I was just wondering...”

“It feels the same as the rest,” she said, exasperated. “Oh, for the love of –”

She waved her arm exaggeratedly at him, and he gingerly ran his fingers over it.

“See? Satisfied now? Anything else you just _have_ to know about my body?”

“Well, um...”

“Seriously? You had more?”

“I just figured while you were in the mood...”

“Oh, I am _never_ in the mood for your shit, 9S,” she said, sighing. “Well, go on, get it out of your system.”

“D-do those shoes come off, or are they just... part of your legs, or... are...” he trailed off. She was giving him a look that emanated utter confusion.

“Do you just come pre-programmed with these weird tastes, or...?”

“No, it's nothing like that, I –”

“Yeah yeah, you just wondered, I know,” she said, the confusion giving way to resignation. She pushed herself off the wall, and stood up; he heard a few soft clicks as she stepped out of the footwear, and shrugged aggressively at him. “Happy?”

“Wait,” he said, standing up too.

“What now?”

His face spread into a wide grin when he realised that without her heels, he was taller than her. It wasn't by much, but it was evidently enough for him.

As she caught on to what he was so smug about, her face yet again shifted its features into pure and utter disbelief.

“ _..._ Seriously?!”

She really couldn't understand how he could be so easily pleased, so simple-minded. He found joy in the most idiotic, stupid –

“Hey, can I ask just one more thing?”

“Yes, and I'm so, so glad it will be absolutely the last thing that you ever ask me,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Can you stay that way for a while? Like, leave them off?”

“Oh look, what a surprise!” she said, clapping her hands sarcastically. “It was weird shit after all! Lemme guess, you want to touch those too?”

He pressed his lips together. “No, I just... it's stupid, never mind.”

“You may as well just tell me now,” she said, looking up at him for once. “You already look stupid, every second of every day.”

“I just never get a damn chance to feel like I could be the one to actually, properly protect you, okay? I know it's stupid, and I know you'll be mad at me for saying it, but... it's sort of nice that you look... so small.”

A2 almost felt her cheeks turning pink, but she quickly regulated that before he could notice. It was that simple? He just wanted to protect her? Why? Didn't she do a good enough job of that herself? He was perfectly competent with his hacking, so why?

“Just let me feel like I – like I'm not _physically_ pathetic around you, just for a bit, that's all...” he muttered. His voice had all the telltale signs of someone on the verge of crying.

For once though, that didn't annoy A2. Even though she didn't quite understand why being taller than her had anything to do with it, she did understand the desire to protect someone.

“Fine,” she said, softly. “But not for too long, it'll be a pain in the ass if I have to fight like this.”

“Thanks, A2,” he murmured, sitting back down and leaning against the wall. He looked up at her, and smiled again. He was in rest mode seconds after that.

A2 was incredulous.

_If he was just gonna go to god-damn sleep again, why did he even ask?! God, he's so..._

She started to panic, as she realised what word she was about to finish that sentence with.

_...cute._

 

_**_

 

The pair of them were sitting on the ledge at the far side of their makeshift shelter. They weren't even saying anything; the sun was hitting their faces, and they were simply relaxing, with their eyes shut.

A2 had mellowed even more over the last few months. She no longer felt so jumpy, and she actually got to rest. 9S promised her, time and time again, that if hostiles approached, the sensors he'd painstakingly set up around their building would alert them, with plenty of time for them to prepare. She hadn't trusted it at first, but after he proved it to her by literally shoving one subjugated machine after the other through the sensors, she threw her arms up in the air and conceded defeat.

They had stopped straying from the ruined city altogether – although she hated to admit it, the machine presence in most of the other accessible areas in the vicinity was far too strong for just the two of them to risk.

His sensors had been modified over time to also pick up any black box signals other than their own, which was useful for the both of them. A2 was still constantly prepared for ambushes, with good reason – they had had to deal with a large number of would-be assassins over the course of the last year. Each and every time they saw 9S, they were always equally surprised, and made pointed comments to their partners, or to him, on his presence there with A2.

 

_“Aren't you...?”_

_“But wait, I thought Command sanctioned the use of only one...”_

_“He's with the traitor? But then, who allowed the other...”_

 

A2 told him not to think too much of it; told him it wasn't worth wasting energy on. But there was something in her eyes, something that made him doubt her honesty for the first time since meeting her.

 

The sensors triggered again. A2 sighed.

“What flavour?”

“Just one YoRHa, actually... huh.”

“One?”

“Yeah, that's all I'm getting...”

He climbed down one level on the building, where he could look through a crack in the wall. What he saw when he did, though, was not what he expected at all.

“It's 2B! She's actually here!”

“Shit, you're kidding? It's her?!”

“Yeah, I can see – wait, I'm picking up another black box signal...”

He squinted hard behind his combat visor, trying to focus in on the figure. He needn't have, though, because he heard them first, in the silence of the ruins. What he heard confused him at first. Why had he laughed? And then it hit him – it wasn't him laughing, there was...

He felt A2 pull him from behind, hard, into the very corner of the room, and hold him tightly, almost painfully.

“Keep quiet,” she hissed, “and pray they don't have scanning modules active on those stupid Pods.”

As much as he was terrified and confused, he did as she said. He heard them walking past their building.

“I've told you before, 9S, cut the chatter,” said 2B.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say,” came his own voice from far below.

The 9S being held in A2's arms squirmed, and his eyes opened wide. She didn't relinquish her grip on him – rather, she covered his mouth, sensing his distress.

“Hold it together, c'mon,” she said, doing her best to keep him calm, as best as she could.

“Don't give me that backchat either,” he heard 2B say.

“Fiiiiiine.”

A2 closed her eyes, as she continued to hold the boy in place. Eventually, the sound of the other two androids' voices faded into the distance, and she tentatively loosened her grip, hoping he wouldn't make a run for it.

He didn't.

“A2... what's going on?” he asked, his voice full of pain.

Lately, she had found herself wondering if this would ever happen, or if she'd ever even have to explain everything she knew about him. She had also found herself hoping that there'd never be a need to. She sighed.

“9S... I have to be honest with you first.”

He nodded silently, without turning his head around to look at her.

“This isn't the first time I've met you. It isn't even the second, or the third. It's the fifth. You and her, you've... had that mission too. To kill me.”

9S exhaled heavily. _Five times?_

She went on, “I hate fighting them, you know. YoRHa. I only do it because I have to. When they come for me, the only choice there is, is 'them or me?' It's orders, I know. And I don't blame you for it. You didn't know what... what I'm about to tell you.”

“Why don't I remember you, then?”

“Because...” she leaned her head back against the wall, letting it rest there. She stared at the crumbling ceiling. “Because your memories aren't intact.”

“What?”

“I really didn't want to be the one to tell you this... not because you don't deserve the truth, but because I don't think it's my place, okay?”

“It... it is your place to say it,” he said, shaking. “If you know something, then please, tell me, A2...”

“Where do I even fucking start...” she breathed. “The first thing you have to know is... 2B isn't 2B. That's not her designation.”

“Then what is?” 9S frowned. She _was_ a combat model, wasn't she?

“She's... an Executioner model. Official designation 2E. She told me herself.”

9S stayed silent.

“She came to kill me alone, twice. The first time, I barely escaped, the second time, I got the upper hand and had to put her down.”

“But what does that have to do with my memories? I get it, she was made to hunt down deserters or something, but...”

A2 held him a little closer. _He shouldn't feel alone_ , she thought.

“9S models are naturally curious. You should know that yourself. You're always going to find out things you shouldn't. Things they don't want you to know.”

“And when I do...”

“Yeah, that's her mission. I'm... sorry,” she added. She genuinely was sorry. The thought of losing her own memories was so terrifying to her that she never wanted to let him go, to let him know how much she could understand what he felt right now.

“They just... there's just another one of me waiting, every time? Oh, god... oh, god...” He started sobbing uncontrollably, tears falling onto her arms.

A2 didn't know how to react at all. All she could do was keep holding him, keeping him close to her, so he could feel some semblance of comfort.

“It's okay,” she whispered to him next to his ear. “9S, it's okay...”

“I... how much have I forgotten? It's all... it's all gone...”

“It's okay,” she repeated. She kissed the top of his head, almost crying herself. How long had it been since she had felt this much pain for someone?

“She can just... how can she? Why would she choose that?”

“I... don't know,” A2 said, entirely honestly.

“She could have... we could have...”

She tilted her head and rested it on top of his, whispering to him over and over that it'd be alright. They stayed in that position for the rest of the day. He slipped in and out of rest mode, and alternated between sitting in silence and breaking into tears again. She stayed awake.

“I'm sorry,” 9S said, after a while.

“You're sorry? What for?”

“Trying to kill you,” he said, fighting back tears again.

“You're... seriously apologising to me? 9S, I... I _did_ kill you, over and over again,” she whispered.

“You said it yourself, d-didn't you? You hate fighting, and you wouldn't have if we hadn't... if we didn't...”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” she told him, stroking his hair now.

“...thank you,” was all he said, before going back into rest mode.

As she sat there with him, keeping watch, keeping him close, she knew at that point what all of their experiences over the past eighteen months had led to. She had truly fallen for him. His innocence. His kindness. Everything about him. There was nothing she could do to fight it at this point, and she knew it.

The sky had clouded over. There was no more sun to bask in.

“It's okay,” she said again, head pressed against his. “I promise I'll make it okay.”

 

**

 

She didn't sleep much, even though she could have. Instead, she watched him sleep. He was so peaceful.

Today, she was pacing back and forth, her heels abandoned next to him. She had tried to find ways to tell him for weeks now, but it was never the right time. In the end, she realised that there might never be a 'right time', and that she had to do it, one way or the other. Being honest with him was more important than anything else.

He began to stir on the floor. Her pulse rate rose.

“Mm... A2? What're you doing?”

“Thinking,” she said, absent-mindedly.

“What about?” he asked, slowly booting up his subsystems as he stretched.

“You,” she said, almost too quietly for him to hear. She stopped her pacing, and looked down at him.

“Did I miss something when I was out? Sorry I forgot to set a timer, it had been a few days, and –”

“No, I'm... thinking about you,” she said, louder this time.

He shot her a quizzical look. “Why?”

She kneeled down in front of him. “Because...”

“If I did something to upset you, just tell me, okay? Is it... is it about that day? I'd rather know... I know I don't really think before I speak, so...”

A2 reached forward, and placed her index finger over his lip. “Please... just listen, for once.”

Her finger travelled sideways, to his cheek; she fanned out her hand, and let her palm caress his face. He blushed, and she smiled gently at him. He hadn't seen her look at him like that before, and he was struggling to make sense of the situation.

“I'm in love with you, 9S.”

His reply came quickly. “Why?” he blurted out.

“Because you're you,” was the only reason she could think of at that moment, but more words came to her shortly afterwards. “You said you wanted to feel like you could protect me once, right?”

He slowly nodded, still trying to take in what he had just heard.

“I'm such an idiot,” she said, laughing a little, and shaking her head. “It took me so, so long to figure out I've been wanting to do the same for you, every day.”

He lowered his head to the floor, but she put her finger underneath his chin, and forced him to look up again.

“That day you're talking about... seeing you like that _did_ something to me. It made me realise that you're not supposed to be the one that looks after me at all, it's the other way around. And you know, even if you don't feel the same, I'm still going to be here to protect you. I'll always –”

“I do, though,” he muttered.

She felt her systems almost come to a screeching halt, there and then. She had to check that she'd heard him right.

“You do... what?”

“I do feel the same. It's not just you.”

Then why did he look so... sad? So dejected?

“Why do you have that look on your face, then?” she asked, stroking his cheek.

“Because... I don't want you to get hurt. Someday they're going to come looking for _me_ too, because... I'm a loose end, and if you got hurt because of that, I – I...”

She shuffled forward, until she was sitting in his lap. She curled her legs around his waist, and slipped her arms over his shoulders, pulling him close.

“How many times have you put your life on the line for me now? Don't you think it's unfair for you to do that, without letting me do the same for you?” she said, her face closer to his than it ever had been.

“A2...”

“I want to take care of you, 9S. I want to know everything there is to know about you. I want –”

“Do you mean that?” he interrupted.

“Mm?”

“Do you... really want to know everything there is about me?”

“Of course I do,” she replied quickly, her breath catching in her throat.

“I can show you,” he said, wrapping his arms around her now.

She nodded, without speaking. He put his forehead on hers, and let the subsystem that allowed androids to share data with each other pull her into his memories. He took a deep breath before allowing her inside.

At first, it was all... scenes of her. Of 2B. There were so, so many of them, so many that A2 felt like getting up, severing the connection, and just walking away. But 9S held her close, and so she stayed. She saw their first clash with her in the castle, and she was very aware of emotions; his hesitation to open fire on her, even then.

As time passed, there were a lot more images of other things, that obviously were not in chronological order. Things the boy enjoyed; things he thought were interesting, pretty, or even poignant. Beautiful vistas, memories of catching his first fish, the feeling of warm rain on his skin. Missions where he'd finished his tasks so quickly he had time to lie down in the grass and bask in the sun. Machines he'd felt sick to the stomach over being ordered to kill. That fucking carpet.

Seeing things like this – the things that made him happiest – stirred feelings in her that she hadn't felt in a long time.

As more stills lightly pushed their way into her mind, she saw things that were obviously more recent memories. The sight of coming back to his flight unit, ruined by the machines. His sadness at losing his Pod. The emotions were clearer with these, and she felt herself experiencing the same things that he did.

More and more memories flooded in at a quicker pace, and the first few images of her started to show up. Their second meeting. The pair of them, exhausted, in the shade of a large tree in the forest, laughing at how they had almost met their end. Then came something she didn't expect to see – a cascade of images, all of her. Her smiling face. Her folded arms and half-pout after he said something stupid. The first time she had trusted him enough to go into rest mode around him. A much later time, a memory of her, asleep, as his hand reached out to touch her hair, then pulled back. Hundreds more pictures, audio logs of her, followed. It was an almost never-ending torrent, until finally she started to see images of herself from today.

As she pulled away from him, she saw that he had been watching her the entire time. She felt a tear run down her cheek – she wasn't even aware she had been crying.

“I told you, it's not just you,” said 9S, reaching up to brush the tear away with the back of his finger. “I'm sorry you had to see some of it, but... even after everything, she's still part of why I am the way I am, and I can't change that.”

A2 sighed with relief. Those were just memories, in the past. This was right now, and right now, she was in his lap, and right now, he was sharing himself with her, and only her. She wished she could see everything else he'd ever thought, but those memories were lost. Seemingly, he had read her mind, though.

“I'm sorry there isn't more, but at least we can look forward to making more of our own now... together, you know?”

“Yeah... I know.”

She looked at him again – he was just... looking at her face. She could tell his eyes were slowly scrolling from top to bottom from the subtle movements of his head, as if he was taking in new scenery for the very first time.

“...what is it?” A2 asked, genuinely wondering what he was thinking.

“Oh, it's just... you have a really cute nose, that's all...”

“' _You have a really cute nose?_ '”

“Yeah, I mean, it's just... it's cute...”

A2 burst out laughing, still held tightly in his arms. The sombre, romantic mood was shattered entirely.

“What? Did I say something wrong?”

“God, you idiot, it wasn't even so long ago we were fighting shit, you're gonna kill me if you make me laugh so much so soon,” she giggled, struggling to breathe at points and holding her stomach.

“I thought it was a nice thing to say...”

“You're so stupid,” she said, her giggles subsiding, giving way to a very different expression, still full of happiness, but mixed with something else now, too.

That expression betrayed nothing of the internal conflict going on inside her at that very moment, though. There was something she was aching to do, after so long. Something she wanted to say so badly, it was eating her up inside. Something almost taboo. She had tried so many times to find the right moment, but it had always felt forced, awkward. Now, though... it felt right. It felt so, so right. She was just terrified. So terrified.

 _Even so_ , she thought, pulling down his goggles gently, _I can't sit on it forever, and... it's so perfect right now..._

She looked him in the eyes.

“Really, you're... you're so stupid, but you know something? I'm... really grateful to you. You've given me a reason to live again, someone to protect... thank you...”

She took a deep breath.

“Thank you... Nines...”

There was a pause, as his brain tried to process that last sentence.

“What... did you just say?”

_Oh fuck, I fucked it up I fucked it up I fucked it up I fucked it up I fucked it up I fucked it up_

“I... I said...”

He rested his forehead gently against hers again, eyes closed.

“Don't worry... it's nothing like that... I just... wanted to hear you say it again.”

His hand slithered up her back, up her neck, coming to rest in her hair. He entwined it in his fingers.

“N-nines...” she murmured, hoping everything really was fine.

“Again... please...”

“Nines...”

“Again...” he said, using the hand on the back of her head to pull her dangerously close to him.

She closed the gap even further, by less than a couple of centimetres.

“Ni-” she began, before he interrupted her by pressing his lips to hers.

 _Well,_ she mused, _never thought it'd be this idiot..._

It was so warm, though. She could feel him smiling through the kiss, and it made her pulse rate climb ever higher. His hand pulled a little at her hair, but it wasn't unpleasant at all; rather, it just told her how much trouble he was having restraining himself too.

9S couldn't quite believe just how soft her lips were. He could've assumed, extrapolated, based on how they looked, but nothing could have prepared him for the reality. He couldn't have stopped himself taking that perfect bottom lip between his teeth if he tried; couldn't have stopped himself from sucking on it, nibbling it, teasing it – it was simply too much to resist.

She was lost in a haze of sensations, and _fuck_ did it feel good. She hadn't anticipated that he'd be quite so forceful, though, as she felt her lip being manipulated between his. She almost wanted to push back harder, to take control, but... something about his innocent, but unbridled desire was making her hold back, letting him do as he pleased.

He leaned against her a bit more, making her unwrap her legs from around his waist; he gently lay her down against the crudely carpeted floor, and started planting kisses on her neck.

She was honestly surprised at herself, allowing anyone to put her in this sort of situation, let alone someone like... _well, someone like what_? It was taking her mind a while to catch up to the fact that she actually wanted this, more than she could admit, even to herself. She didn't have a lot of time to think about that though, as she felt his teeth nipping at the skin just next to her windpipe, followed by his lips clamping down, and a long, drawn out sucking sensation.

“Mmn – what are you even _doing_?”

“I wanted to leave something on you that wasn't just a memory,” he said after a while, admiring his reddish-purple handiwork, and showing off his own knowledge of human anatomy. “Is that alright?”

“Of course it's alright, but... nobody's gonna see it, you know?”

“I'll see it,” he replied, quietly. “You really don't mind?”

“No, it's actually quite sweet,” she muttered.

9S smiled.

“You, saying something's sweet... that's cute too.”

“I swear, if you keep calling me cute, I'm gonna get right off this floor, and –”

“– and do what?” he asked, calmly cutting across her. A large part of him desperately wanted to see what would happen if he crossed her line.

“Wanna find out?” she replied, her breathing heavy and ragged. Her own arms were unoccupied, and so she was free to trace her fingertip from his cheek, all the way down his neck, coming to rest on his collarbone. His entire body tensed up, and she saw a shiver run through him. She licked her lips.

“I... uh...” he mumbled, confidence faltering already under her delicate touch.

As much as one side of her wanted to let him be the one in charge, in the end, she couldn't fight her urges. She lifted him in her arms with ease, rolled over to the side, and swiftly assumed his previous position, in one fluid motion.

“I want you to find out,” she whispered, smiling at him.

“O-oh... um... I guess that'd be... nice...”

“You crumbled fast,” she said, lowering herself against his body and pressing her lips against his ear, “didn't you, Nines?”

The boy just started nervously giggling uncontrollably, making A2 let out a soft moan of desire, just from hearing that sweet, pure sound. She kept her mouth right where it was, breathing into his ear, nibbling it, licking the outer edge of it. He squirmed underneath her, still giggling, trying desperately to get out from underneath her, clawing at the carpet. Her response was to gather both of his wrists in one of her much stronger hands, and hold them above his head, while she continued to softly whisper into his ear, letting her tongue dart out between sentences.

“Aren't you worried what I'm gonna do to you?”

“Ehehe no... I trust you...”

“Oh, you should be worried...”

“I shohohould?”

“You have no idea what I want to do to you right now,” she purred, making him shiver again as she nibbled on his earlobe. “Months and months of feeling this, not knowing if I should act on it or not... can you imagine what that does to a girl, Nines?”

“I can, because I felt the same...”

She sighed, a deep, longing sigh, as she slid down his body slightly, so she could return the favour from earlier.

“You won't mind if I leave something to remember on you either then, will you?”

“Mm... no,” he murmured.

She began to unbutton his jacket, starting from the bottom and working her way up. His breathing was decidedly unsteady as she exposed his waist, then his stomach. She planted a soft kiss on his tummy, then continued her path. He leaned forward after she had finished, so she could slip the jacket and his shirt off in one go. Her eyes explored his upper body, drinking him in.

“Well, where do I start...”

“You're asking me?!”

“It was a hypoth- oh, screw you,” she said, choosing a spot right next to his belly button to begin laying her own claim to his body.

He couldn't help that he had a look of smug self-satisfaction on his face. He was nervous, but this was her place, in control – there was no doubting that. She definitely knew when to listen to him, and when to take his lead, but for the majority of the time, he let her be her. He wanted her to practically devour him on the spot. Seeing her lower her head to his stomach, feeling her warm breath on his skin, and listening to the gentle sucking sounds was almost too much for him to handle. He wondered if she was aware of his growing erection, straining against his shorts, almost painfully – he also wasn't sure if he wanted her to be aware of it or not.

She left no less than ten separate marks on him. He wondered if he'd ever bother to repair those artificial blood vessels at all.

“It's not fair, you know,” he said to her, trying to stifle the giggles, knowing full well what he was about to say. “You undressed me, but you won't do the same?”

“I'm not even – I'm barely – there's just – oh, you are just a fucking comedian today, aren't you?” A2 said, half-pouting, half-frowning.

It was his turn to burst out laughing at her, and it didn't take long until she joined him.

 _God,_ he thought, every time she allowed him to hear that laugh was a precious gift, hastily unwrapped.

Nevertheless, she still unfastened the ragged piece of cloth that hung around her waist, technically leaving her entirely –

“...aaand now I'm naked, and you still aren't... regretting that decision, or was this all part of your plan?”

“I couldn't say,” he replied with a smile, half of him still completely filled with disbelief that this was actually happening. Half of the words he was saying felt incredibly unnatural leaving his mouth, but well, shouldn't they? It wasn't as if he'd done anything like this before...

“Well,” she began, with a tinge of bitterness, as she slid herself on top of his hips, “I can tell _you're_ excited about this.”

That answered his earlier question. He picked up on the discordant note in her voice, though.

“What's wrong? ...A2?”

She looked at him wistfully; the smile had faded entirely from her face.

“This is me, naked, right now, so...”

“So?”

“Don't you get it? There's nothing here,” she said, gesturing aggressively at her crotch. “This is it. We weren't given the same luxuries as... later units.”

“Oh... I – I'm...”

“No, don't get me wrong, I don't hold it against you,” she muttered quickly.

“A2...”

“I wasn't looking for pity, I just... I got carried away, and for a second, I almost forgot that I – that I...”

He puzzled over her expression. Did she seriously think he cared? Either way, the moment had passed, so he redirected all of his efforts to making her feel better.

“A2... this thing,” he said, shifting around beneath her, “it's just – it's just a program, it reacts this way if it's stimulated – it's not me trying to hint, or anything like that... they told us it was better for our emotional health, if we had them, and could... well, you know...”

He couldn't read the expression on her face, so he went on.

“L-look, I seriously couldn't care less – about any of that stuff, I...”

He fumbled with his words. Nothing felt like it'd help. How stupid he'd been to think everything would just go smoothly, even after everything they'd been through.

“It really... doesn't bother you?” she asked.

“As long as I get to be with you – around you, nothing else mat–”

She let go of his wrists and wrapped her arms around him in the space of a second, bringing him into an almost painfully close embrace, and knocking the wind out of him.

“God, you always find new ways to fucking surprise me,” she said, her voice thick with relief.

“What do you mean?” asked 9S, confused, but glad he had somehow managed to stumble on the right thing to say.

“Even until today, I had these preconceptions of you – how you'd act in some situations, things you'd say in others, you know? And every time, you just... nothing matches how I think you'll be, and it catches me off guard... every single time.”

She didn't look finished, so he kept his mouth shut.

“There was only ever one person before you that could make me feel this way, but...”

9S nodded slowly.

“This feels... look, this is hard to say, because... I fucking hate whenever we have to talk about... _her_ , so I shouldn't expect that you'd feel any different to that now,” she said, taking a deep breath. “You have to know though, even though I twist my stupid face if you say her name, I do understand. I do. I loved... a girl named Number 4. She was – she was my world, but she's not here now, and I know for a god-damn fact that if I threw this away she'd never forgive me, so... ah shit, what I'm trying to say is... I love you, so please, don't go anywhere now, okay? You're all that matters to me, too...”

9S was both at a loss for words, and entirely breathless. Not just from her embrace, but from the entire impact of her confession. He lifted his hand slowly to her head, and just stroked her long, flowing hair, over and over. All the signs of his physical excitement had long passed, and he was glad of it.

“I had preconceptions of you too,” he said, finally. “I'm glad they all turned out to be wrong.”

She sighed, resting her head against his chest, breathing softly.

“You really do make everything better, somehow,” she whispered.

“I can still make you feel good, you know,” he whispered back.

A2 looked up at him.

“N-not like that, I don't mean...”

“Go on,” she said, her stormy eyes locked with his.

“I can...” he paused, almost rolling the words he planned to say around on his tongue before saying them out loud. “I can make you feel... like there _isn't_ anything else except us, if you'll let me...”

“Mm... I'd like that,” she sighed, softly. She smiled as she felt his hacking module boot up right on top of her head, through his never-ceasing stroking. It felt warm, and she could almost have cried when her systems didn't consider him a threat.

"I'm all yours, Nines... take care of me though, I'm fragile." She barely kept a straight face during the second part of that statement, but he knew she wasn't entirely lying.

"I know, and... I will."

A2 slipped into bliss in his arms, as did he in hers.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I managed to keep it at a "Mature" rating for what, like 3 days? Oops! (⁄ ⁄>⁄ ▽ ⁄<⁄ ⁄)  
> I really wanted to write this anyway, and there's going to be one more chapter after this, which will be a lot more serious, I think.  
> I think this is actually the most explicit I've been about this stuff, but... they both need to just reeelaaax, you know? So that's why there's a lewd interlude. An interlewd.
> 
> I'd actually appreciate critique on the pacing (in particular the buildup to the sex stuff) and the detail of the actual sex stuff, because I don't write the details too often, so please, if you find time, let me know!  
> I wanted the buildup to feel rushed, as if he was seizing the only opportunity he figured he was going to get for a long while, but I'm not sure if it comes across well, as it's quite a departure from my usual drawn out boring super detailed style. IDK.  
> It was actually also quite challenging to maintain the same feel of the first chapter, so if I didn't quite nail it, tell me that too.  
> Thank you for reading!

9S was alone in their 'home' – well, thinking about it, he didn't quite feel the need to doubt the fact it was a home, any more. Everything he'd heard about humans and their own homes led him to believe that right now, this was pretty much the same. There was little in the way of anything you could call furniture, and it was a far cry from his quarters on the Bunker, but even so, it felt far more comfortable to him than anything he'd ever had there.

He smiled to himself, looking at the odd selection of items they'd chosen to keep around. They had both taken to collecting books from the old world, which were incredibly rare to find in any readable condition – however, they contained a large amount of information that hadn't even been catalogued in YoRHa data storage, or the machine network, and so it was worth the effort to hunt them down. It was obvious why he would enjoy them – without any way to use the YoRHa data network, he had been cut off from his usual pool of information.

A2, however, enjoyed them for a different reason. Whenever they'd manage to find one that wasn't utterly illegible, she'd ask him to read it to her, the same day, no matter the content. Whereas his constant talking and question asking had at one point irritated her, now, she loved to hear him speak. She would curl up on the carpet, resting her head on his chest, as he slowly narrated each and every page to her. She shivered involuntarily when he said things in a certain tone, or when his tongue wrapped around a word in a particularly gentle way – not that he minded; he made sure to take his time, no matter how much he was eager to rush ahead and read further.

Right now though, she was away – a rogue machine had tripped their sensors, then made a run for it, so she had taken it upon herself to tail it.

“I'll go, it's fine,” she had said to him, preparing to leap from the open side of their shelter to the lower levels of the building. She knew he hadn't entered rest mode in days, repairing damage he'd sustained to one of his legs. It wasn't quite as simple to repair himself without the requisite parts on hand, or dedicated repair androids to help speed up the process.

“Don't engage unless it's just a handful...” 9S said, in a strained voice. He knew she was more than capable, he just... worried. It was nice to worry, though, he thought.

“I won't, I promise. Get some damn rest, okay?” she said, and then she was out of sight.

He leaned back against the wall again, letting out a deep, long exhale. He truly did miss her company when she wasn't around, even if it was only for a little while. Before the alarm had been triggered, she had simply been resting in his arms, and he had been whispering sweet nothings in her ear. His fingers trailed delicate lines all over her body, wherever he could reach, and she made pleasant sounds, even in her sleep.

Those sounds did things to him, though, things that he made every attempt to hide. He didn't want her to ever be uncomfortable with the fact that he had something she didn't, and so no matter how much his processes told him he wanted it, or needed it, he fought it.

For the most part, he could simply just angle his body, or pull his knees up, or turn over onto his stomach, just until it passed. Other times though, it wasn't so easy. When she pressed up against him at night, or let herself get overly playful, he'd have to surreptitiously self-hack, just to turn those processes off. He still remembered the look on her face when she had realised what she wasn't able to be for him, right when she wanted to be, and he never wanted to see that again.

At the moment though, he was alone, for the first time in a long time. He decided he could finally allow himself a few brief moments of thinking of her thighs, and her butt, pushed against his crotch as he held her tightly; of her soft, taut tummy, and his palm pressed against it; the sensitive surface of her breasts, as he ran his fingertips over them, making her squirm under his touch.

 _Fuck,_ he thought _._ He had no recollection of when exactly he had gotten hard. He couldn't even remember when his hand had slipped into his pants. He had been so entranced with the thoughts of her body, those things hadn't even had a chance to register.

It was too late to turn back now, though. He'd just make it quick.

He wrapped his fingers around his shaft, lightly thrusting into his palm involuntarily – even that was enough to make him breathe heavier, it had been so long since he'd allowed himself any kind of release.

He pushed his shorts down over his knees, followed by his pants, leaving him free to stroke the entire length. He let out a soft moan, imagining his hand was the space between her thighs, imagining she was encouraging him to push harder, faster, imagining –

“Waste of my god-damn time! It wasn't even going anywhere, just running in circles around the whole... stupid...”

She trailed off, staring at his form on the floor. His hand, wrapped around his exposed erection, his shorts around his ankles, and his face, transfixed in horror.

“I'm sorry,” he stammered, hastily attempting to pull up both sets of leg wear, “I'm sorry, I didn't – I was just –”

“Were you...?”

“No, I mean – yeah, but it's fine, it's... I'm sorry...”

He looked up at her, trying to read her expression, but it wasn't anger. It wasn't even a look of pain. It looked like... a gently stirred mix of pity, sympathy, and confusion.

“Why do you keep apologising?”

“Because,” he said, his mouth dry, “I never wanted you to feel bad about... this...”

She slowly walked over to him, and kneeled in front of his trembling body. “How long?”

“Huh?”

“How long since you...?”

He looked at the floor. “Since...”

“Oh, you're shitting me, right? Why the hell would you do that?”

“I didn't want you to –”

“You said that they're programmed to respond to stimulation,” she said pointedly, recalling their first – and last – attempt at anything like this, “and there's definitely been plenty of that...”

“I-it's a pretty simple process to hack away, so it's not like it...” He couldn't even find the words to finish his sentence. He was still hard, too, so it wasn't the easiest thing to focus.

“You seriously did that to yourself... just so I wouldn't feel bad?”

He nodded, slowly.

“But there's things we haven't even talked about,” she said, talking quicker than usual, “there's all kinds of replacement parts we could use – hell, I don't mind if you find it, make it, whatever, I –”

“I don't want you to change,” he mumbled.

“You... total idiot,” she said, leaning over him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. “You've been practically torturing yourself...” 

As she leaned over, he felt her stomach brush against his erection. He instinctively went to pull away, to remove the offending object from her presence, but she pressed a hand into his back, making sure he couldn't.

“Stop that,” she whispered, leaning forward a bit more so she could push her stomach against it more firmly. She felt so bad for him – for the lengths he had gone to for her sake.

“I don't want... I don't want you to hate me for needing this...”

“Hate you?”

“Well, don't you?”

“No, I don't hate you, you god-damn idiot. Why didn't you say anything?”

“You were so upset – and we've been fine, haven't we? We've been fine, doing it other ways, and... and there's no need for you to force yourself to –”

“Hey, c'mon. I think you know by now that _nobody_ can force me to do anything I don't want to,” she said, "not even me. God, just... let me fucking help you, Nines." 

9S let out a whimper against his will.

“A2, if you...”

“Shh,” was all she said, letting her body rest against his. His cock twitched against her skin. “If you're gonna open your mouth, it had better be to tell me how to do this, okay?”

He swallowed audibly. “H-how to...?”

“Well, I don't know it works,” she said, rocking side to side, “I just know that when I do this, you make some damn cute sounds.”

“ _Mnn_ – well, it's... pretty sensitive, so it doesn't – _nn_ – really matter what you do, so long as you're nice to it...”

“Nice to it?” she puzzled out loud, rolling her hips against him.

“ _Mmmhhh_...” seemed to be all he could say.

She felt something wet, and sat back; her eyes were drawn to the string of fluid connecting her stomach and the tip of his length. “Is that... normal?”

“Y-yeah,” he managed to breathe, “it's what happens when you... keep...”

“I see,” she said, barely even waiting for him to finish his explanation. “So, what were you thinking about?”

“Thinking about...?”

“When I so rudely interrupted you,” she smiled, wrapping her hand around the head of it, imitating what she had seen him doing just moments before. The way her delicate fingers tenderly embraced his most sensitive areas almost drove him insane on the spot.

He immediately tensed, and pushed himself forward into her hand. That was a mistake. In doing so, he had let her know the extent of the power she held over him right now. Her eyes practically lit up with an evil glint, one that held the remorse of a thousand missed opportunities to tease him.

“I was... thinking of...”

“Go on,” she said in a sickly sweet voice, letting her fingertips explore the underside of the head of his sensitive member.

“You...”

“Well, I could have guessed that much... you'll have to be more specific,” she giggled in a most un-A2-like way, withdrawing her hand. She was starting to enjoy herself already.

“No, please, don't stop... I was thinking of your...”

“My...?” Her fingers were poised, ready to continue their cruel work, just centimetres away from him.

“Your thighs, and... the way you hold them against me, when we rest together...”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, so please...”

A2 obliged, returning her teasing digits. She leaned forward, without ceasing the merciless torment. “Say thank you, Nines.”

He looked up at her face; this situation was the one thing he could never have anticipated. She looked... _hungry_. He still melted every time she called him by that name, too. Even if he had any reason to, he had absolutely no resistance to put up against her any more, no matter what she might ask of him.

“Th-thank you,” he said, his voice barely a whisper.

“You really are cute,” she said, smiling, drawing circles around the tip with her thumb.

He was visibly shuddering now, trying to thrust harder against her palm, but she always repositioned it, so he was forever just out of reach. She had grasped just how desperate he was for those sensations very, very quickly. All he could do was whisper her name, over and over again, pleading for her to let him have _some_ control over the situation.

“A2... please...”

She responded with a straight question. “Is it gonna feel like how you make me feel, when you... with the hacking...?”

“ _Mnnh_ – almost... I... probably... take it too far with you...”

“Not god-damn far enough,” she mumbled, “but anyway...”

She removed her hand again, making him whine, but his expression changed to one of pure ecstasy when she bent over to give the tip a light kiss.

“Would you like me to do something nice for you, Nines?”

He nodded wordlessly, unable to break eye contact, as if she held some kind of sway over him with old world magic.

She wasn't entirely confident in her own abilities, but she also had a feeling that he'd know what to do once she gave him the opportunity.

“Mm... I thought so,” she purred, crawling closer to him. “Well, I can't say I'm not curious now, but...”

He didn't care what that 'but' was leading to. They both knew he'd tear off his limbs on the spot if she asked.

“...but, I want you to show me how much you want it, first,” she sang softly, right in front of his face.

She got to her knees, positioning herself carefully so that her thighs were just about level with his lips.

“Kiss them,” she whispered, her voice dripping with desire, steadying herself with her hands on his shoulders. “Show me how much you want them, and then I'll let you use them as much as you damn well want.”

How had this flipped, so quickly? He didn't sense any guilt in her, only a blissful cocktail of curiosity and lust.

He decided not to waste any more time thinking; his lips found their way to the skin on her thighs quicker than the time it took for his black box to pulse once. Long, lingering kisses; light, barely-there kisses; kisses where he let his tongue explore the surface of the still-pristine top layer of artificial skin that remained there.

A2 was breathless; lost for words. Not that she planned on letting him know how much she was enjoying the situation just yet, but seeing him this way, almost losing himself entirely in her – more than anything, she ached to give him the relief he so badly needed from her.

 _Nothing wrong with making him work for it though_ , she thought.

She lightly placed her palms on the sides of his face, and tilted it upwards so she could kiss him. She could taste his agony.

She didn't need to say anything to let him know he'd done a good enough job. She just lay down in front of him, as she did when they would rest together. She found it amusing that even after she began to grind her hindquarters on his almost painfully hard cock, he still didn't do anything about it, as if he was waiting for permission. She smiled to herself, before rearranging her legs, sandwiching his length between them.

Even if he had wanted permission first, after that, there was no going back. As far as he was concerned, that was his permission. It was beyond everything he could've imagined; he was so close to finishing that he couldn't hold himself back any longer. He was thrusting, hard, into the space between those perfect legs, as she tensed her muscles just enough to create the right amount of pressure –

He came, moaning her name, as ropes of hot, milky-white syrup exploded from his tortured cock, all over the insides of her thighs, and into her waiting hand. She twisted a little, turning to face him as much as she could from her current position; she reached around behind her back, held the back of his head and whispered to him, “ _let go, Nines... just relax... enjoy it..._ ” as close to his ear as possible.

Although the ejaculate wasn't carrying anything, and served no real purpose, the designers of the 'equipment' for androids had considered that it wouldn't be difficult to just vent excess lubricant once sufficient levels of stimulation had been reached, thinking it would be odd to not include every function that a human male would have had. Not that those details mattered to either of them, though.

She slipped her now-slick thighs off of him, turning to face him properly, her palm still covered in the sticky fluid. She waited until he had recovered a little, and was able to focus on her face, before locking eyes with him and licking every last drop from her hand.

“So, that's how you taste...” she said, making him turn bright crimson all over again. She ran her other hand through his hair, gazing at his exhausted features. “Hey, welcome back.”

“Hey,” he said, weakly, his body and mind still attempting to register what had just happened. “Thank –”

“Don't you dare thank me,” she said, feigning taking extreme offence. “After all the times you've sat there for hours, making _me_ feel good... it's nothing, okay?”

“...then why'd you mess with me like that?”

She grinned. “C'mon, it's me. You didn't soften me up that much, Nines.”

He smiled back, before his expression turned a little more serious. “I do need to ask something though, even if it makes you mad...”

“Go ahead,” she said. They had both gotten caught up in the moment, so it probably was best to get everything out in the open, she reasoned.

“This was – no, _you_ were amazing,” he began, taking a steadying breath, “but I really need to know you're okay with it, A2. I need to hear you say it.”

She pulled herself closer to him, wrapping her arms around his back and slipping her hands under his jacket, feeling his warmth against her. “I promise, it's fine. We are what we are, right?”

“Right,” he agreed, touching his forehead to hers gently.

“And if it gets that bad again, you had better tell me, okay?”

“I mean, I could go again...” he said, unable able to keep a straight face.

“Yeah, yeah, keep dreaming,” she said, pinching his side and making him squeak. He loved that just one affirmation didn't quite do the job for her either.

“Androids can't dream,” he pointed out.

“Shut up,” she said, resting her head on his chest. “I was amazing, huh...”

“You always are,” he replied, smiling, his fingers entwined in her hair.

“God, I _said_ shut up,” she said, blushing furiously.

That time, he listened, though he continued to wear the most contented smile any android was known to have worn, as they lay there together, listening to a world outside their own.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took me a little while, sorry. The moods were hard to get right, but I got there in the end.  
> No huge note-block this time, it was kind of emotional for me to write, too. ｡･ﾟﾟ*(>д<)*ﾟﾟ･｡
> 
> There may, MAY, be one more chapter, depending on if I think of a good way to add it, but, I'm also happy with leaving it here for the time being.   
> I hope you like this one, and as usual, please leave a comment if you have criticism or enjoyed reading!

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yes,” she said, with patience carefully cultivated over the past two years. She had long since given up trying to dissuade him from asking.

“Do you think I'm bad for you?”

Her eyes fluttered open. He was lying next to her, gazing at her. She was lying on her back, now staring at the ceiling.

“I don't know what you mean,” she said, confused.

“Do you think being around me... changed you? For the worse, I mean.”

“I'm still not sure what you're getting at.” She closed her eyes again.

“You said I've softened you up,” he said, slowly. He had obviously been thinking about this for quite some time. “All this time, I kept telling myself that I don't want you to change, because you're you, and you're... there's nobody like you.”

A2 remained silent, letting his words sink in.

“I know things have changed, because, well, how couldn't they? But what we have now... is this what you want?”

“Can I ask _you_ something?”

9S was taken aback. “S-sure, but... this is about you...”

“No,” she said, “it's about _us_. What do you think my life was, before this?”

“I... I'm not sure...”

“I can tell you what it was – it wasn't a life at all. Every single god-damn day was a waste.”

It was his turn to lie there in silence.

“Whatever this is, and whether I've changed or not doesn't matter. I told you before – you give me a reason to go on. Even if I have changed, it's for the better. That wasn't any way to live.”

She sighed. “So no, I don't think you're 'bad' for me, in any sense of the word, you damn idiot.”

He rested his head on top of her chest, exhaling heavily.

“You think too much,” she whispered, bringing one hand to his head and the other around his back. She scratched lightly at the spot where his hair started, on the back of his neck, and felt all of his tension melt away.

“I know,” he mumbled, “I know.”

She smiled at his concern all the same, once he was resting. She didn't want him to change, either.

 

**

 

“I'm just tired of all this... grey, you know?” she pouted, looking around the room.

“Huh?”

“Ah, forget it.”

“No, what?”

“I miss when we'd bring flowers and stuff back with us,” A2 said, playing with her hair absent-mindedly.

“You hated when they'd die, though...”

“It felt like such a waste of life,” she said, shrugging. “May as well just go where they are instead of bringing them here. It's selfish.”

“Mm.”

 

**

 

Day after day, the same journey, from bottom to top, over and over. Every time he thought it might be a fruitless endeavour, he took a minute to look in on her as he passed their floor on the way back down, breathing in and out softly, her silvery hair falling around her. If there was even the slightest chance it'd make her happy, even for a week, even for a day, it was worth it.

9S sighed, and went back down for another handful of soil. He'd been working at it for around a week, and figured it'd take a couple more days before he could show her. He only had the six or so hours she allowed herself to rest, minus two for himself, minus fifteen minutes to sprint to the stream and back to wash his hands.

Still though, it'd be worth it to see the look on her face.

 

**

 

He'd definitely be done today, he knew it for sure. He was practically giddy every time he reached the top of the building, to add another small handful of soil to one side of the roof. He had originally planned on adding the flowers to it, too, but he had decided it would be better if she could fill it herself, with the things she wanted.

He had taken into account the positioning of the building, which was slightly tilted to one side, and chosen a corner to start working on that wouldn't allow his makeshift garden to slide to the far side of the rooftop if it rained.

He was glad he wasn't totally clueless on the subject; he recalled more than a few maintenance sessions on the Bunker sitting next to 2B's operator, 6O, who was more than happy to tell him all about all kinds of flora and fauna on Earth. He hadn't _asked_ to be told about all kinds of flora and fauna on Earth, but he had sat through it and listened to her with a polite smile all the same.

_She was nice_ , he thought, as he descended the building again.

 

**

 

“I have something to show you,” were his first words to her as she began to stir.

“Mmnnn... I've seen it before, you know...”

“Huh?”

“I know you're proud of it, but you don't have to keep reminding me every day...”

He pinched her nose. “Very funny,” he said, smiling all the same.

“What is it?”

“Come with me for a second, and I'll show you,” he said, standing up and extending his hand to her. He was reminded of the time he'd offered it to her in the forest, and he couldn't help but let his smile widen when she took it this time, as he helped to pull her to her feet.

“Why are you smiling like you've totally lost it?” she asked, stepping into her heels.

He said nothing, leading her by her hand to the mostly ruined staircase at the side of their floor. He jumped up first, then pulled her up after him. Of course, they both knew she didn't need any help with it – she was simply so entranced by the look on his face right now, and so very curious, that the thought of saying it out loud never crossed her mind.

“Close your eyes,” he said, before they rounded the corner that would lead them to the roof.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, seriously.”

She shook her head, rolling her eyes softly before she obliged, as he led her outside. It was a bright day, which made a change from the overcast, dreary mess the rest of the week had been.

He had brought up some smaller slabs of broken-off concrete, to close off the area he'd been working on. It looked... well, it lacked the important finishing touches, but at the same time, it was still something complete, something tangible.

“Alright... uh, you can open them now,” he said. He was surprisingly nervous.

She did so, and took a cursory glance around, seemingly scanning over the important part. “Uh... what am I looking at, exactly?”

“That,” he said, pointing. That was anti-climactic.

“You did that?” she asked, confused. “Why?”

“You said... you hated when the flowers died, so I thought you'd like if you could...”

It dawned on her halfway through his sentence why exactly he had done it, and she couldn't help but clap both of her hands to her mouth in shock.

“How damn long did this even take you?”

“Uh... around two weeks, give or take,” he said, trying not to think of how many trips up and down the building it was. _Oh, never mind. 3,218._

“One offhand comment, weeks ago, and you go and do this?”

“I want to do whatever I can to make you happy, so... yeah. Do you, uh... do you like it?”

She turned to him, with tears in her eyes, and kissed the top of his head. “It's wonderful, Nines.”

 

**

 

It didn't take long for her to fill their own private garden with all kinds of plant life. They had made an exception to their no-travel rule to gather from the forest, as she remembered certain species she was fond of that could only be found there. Sometimes, she was still incredibly self-conscious of calling things pretty, or nice – she half expected to turn to 9S and see him doubled over with mocking laughter, telling her she'd truly gone soft. But that never happened. He always had the same look of joy on his face whenever she'd turn back to him with something new, or whenever he could tell her what something was, and how to look after it. He still surprised her, even now.

A2 wanted to share something with him, too, but she wasn't so sure, now. She had had ideas of doing it for a while, but since they had been rooted in the ruins, there hadn't been any opportunity at all. They were here now, though – and the only thing that was holding her back was her own insecurity. There was a place that only she knew of – as far as she knew, anyway – deep in the forest, that she wanted to trust him with, too. But was it really on the same level as what he had done? What if he just scoffed, turned his nose up at it? He'd talked about wanting a bath for a while, but had he imagined something more civilised? Hot, running water, with sweet-smelling soaps, just like he would've had on the Bunker?

_Nah_ , she thought, pushing those thoughts out of her mind as she watched him rush off excitedly to gather some more plants. _He's not like that._

“Hey, put those down a sec,” she said, holding his wrists gently. “We can come back for them.”

“What's wrong? Think we should head back?”

“No, I want to take you... somewhere,” she said, as he put the flowers down. “It's not too far, but I want it to be a surprise, too, so...”

She scooped him up in her arms before he had a chance to argue. He was surprisingly light, all things considered.

“Oh, uh... well, this is kinda embarrassing...” he half-giggled, looking up at her and blushing.

“Keep your damn eyes closed,” she said, feeling a little embarrassed herself. “I told you, I want it to be a surprise, but you won't be able to come with if you can't see shit.”

The place she had in mind was a small lake, tucked away in a basin. She could have simply led him there, but the path they had to take to reach the lake would ruin the surprise entirely – there were large, winding tree roots that they'd have to slowly work their way down, and they circled the basin in its entirety.

“Jeez... this is humiliating,” he said, still smiling, with his eyes tightly shut, even behind his combat goggles, “but at the same time, this way you're walking, it's making me kinda sleepy...”

“Don't you dare,” she said as she smirked, and they both laughed.

 

**

 

A2 carried him the entire way, being even more careful than usual with the descent. She had no desire to ruin the moment by sending them both tumbling down a thirty metre drop.

“Okay, your turn,” she said shakily, setting him down. As far as 'turns' went, it was her turn to be nervous. “You can open them.”

He did, but it took his visual sensors a while to adjust.

“Ah, gimme a sec, it's so bright, I... oh, wow...”

9S gasped. He hadn't imagined that such a place could still exist – it was so untainted, so unspoiled by either machine or android. The sun shone through in visible shafts of light, piercing through the light mist that hung in the air. The surface of the water rippled lightly in the breeze, but it still reflected the scene around them perfectly. Vines hung down from overhanging tree branches, lightly touching the water; the sound of birdsong, and the light rustle of leaves against leaves were the only things that could be heard.

“It's not much, I know, but it's something important to me,” A2 said, gazing idly over the scene. “It's where I'd come when things got too much.”

“It's beautiful,” replied 9S, breathlessly.

“I'm glad you think so,” she said. At that moment, she knew for certain she hadn't made a mistake bringing him here.

He stared in silent awe for a few more minutes, taking everything in, before she whispered in his ear.

“It's warmer than it looks, you know.”

“Oh, really?” His first reaction, as she knew it would be, was to take his glove off and dip his hand straight into the water. “Wow, you're right!”

She smiled again. His joy and curiosity was so pure, and such a pleasure to watch, no matter how many times she experienced it. She felt a brief pang of anger thinking of how with _them_ , he'd be punished simply for being himself, but she quickly pushed that feeling down, back into the pit of her stomach. This wasn't the time for those thoughts.

“There's a ledge there,” she went on. “You can just sit there, and – hey, wait a second, idiot!”

“What?” he asked, as he started to run over to where she had pointed.

“You're going to do it like that?”

“Like wha- _oh_ , right...” He trudged back over to her, sat down, and started roughly taking off his boots.

A2 looked down at him, and rolled her eyes again.

“Here, let me give you a hand with the rest...”

She gently began to unbutton his jacket, and slid it free of his arms. She kissed his neck as she pulled the clothing from the rest of his body, her lips only taking a break to lift his shirt over his head.

“That's better,” she said, standing up and nudging him with her foot. “Now you can go.”

As he dashed off excitedly, splashing and stomping his way through the tranquil water, she pulled off her own ragged 'clothing', and stepped out of her heels, sighing before she moved to join him.

 

**

 

9S was leaning back against her, sandwiched between her spread thighs, as they sat together in the warm shallows. A2 had one arm holding him tightly against her, while she ran the fingers of her free hand through his hair, over and over. He made soft, contented noises.

“It's wonderful here,” he said in hushed tones, now starting to appreciate how much being quiet contributed to the serenity of the area.

“It's even more wonderful now,” she mumbled behind him, savouring the feeling of his body pressed against hers, in her most treasured place.

“Hey, so... if you bathed here so much, um... how come there's still dirt on you? Like, your face was always this way, wasn't it?”

She smiled at the back of his head, sadly. There was no malice, and no criticism in the question – he wasn't trying to make her feel bad about it.

“It's not dirt,” she said, sighing. “I wish. Skin's started doing the same as it is everywhere else.”

She gestured loosely at her left leg, which was in a slightly better state than her right, but it was still slowly fading from flesh-tone to black as more and more of the top layer peeled away from lack of proper maintenance.

“Oh,” he said. “No, but your face, it'll...”

“Probably, some day,” she whispered.

“But you're so pretty... that's...”

She paused for a moment to look into the canopy above them.

“Will you think I'm less pretty, when it's all gone?”

“Never,” he said, without a second of hesitation.

_He sounds so certain of that,_ she thought.

They didn't speak after that, for a while. She simply just kept caressing his body, his hair, his face, whatever she could reach, taking in every sensation she could.

He broke the silence, having had time to think.

“Even when we're both just shells, and we look nothing like humans, or anything like we used to, I'll still think you're beautiful. I promise.”

He felt her tears on his back.

“Don't ever leave,” she said, between sobs.

He took the blackened hand on his chest in his own unblemished, perfect one, intertwining their fingers, and squeezing tightly.

“I won't, don't worry.”

She rested her head on his shoulder.

“You're incredible, you know that?”

“No,” he said, “just in love.”

Her breath hitched. It was the first time he'd said it back.

“Can't it be both?”

He laughed softly.

“Jeez, if you say so...”

 

**

 

After a few hours, they dried off as best as they could, got dressed, and began the slow climb upwards, back to the more familiar areas of the forest. They didn't speak much on the way back – they didn't feel like there was anything left to say, right now. A2 still had a half-smile on her face, and 9S was lost in his own thoughts. They picked up the handfuls of flowers and other plants they'd left behind earlier, and started to make their way back to the ruins.

As they drew closer to the complex, they heard a familiar, unwelcome sound. It was the alarm from their sensors.

“We just can't catch a break, huh...” he sighed.

“Let's just go take care of it quickly,” she said, messing his hair up. “Keep your guard up, alright?”

As she checked the area around their apartment, he began to ascend the flights of stairs, as swiftly as he could. He was worried he'd reach their floor, and see everything they owned destroyed, their books torn to shreds, the little mementos from the old world ruined, but when he got to it, everything was untouched. He scratched the back of his head, puzzled.

“There's nothing down there,” A2 said, poking her head above the stair level, still holding the flowers. “Wait, nothing here, either?”

“I dunno, maybe there's something wrong with them,” he said, frowning. “I'll go out and take a look, it doesn't seem –”

“Did you check the roof?”

“No, I –”

They both sprinted up the final flight of ruined stairs, praying there wouldn't be spiteful machines destroying what they'd both worked so hard on, hoping his sensors had just gone into a state of disrepair. A2 rounded the corner first, and as 9S came up behind her, he saw her weapon was already drawn, the flowers she was holding now on the floor.

“You...” he heard A2 say, as he advanced further still.

He finally arrived at her side, and he looked over at what she had drawn her weapon for.

“2B...” he whispered.

 

**

 

“No, wait, A2!” 9S shouted, as she moved towards 2B. She was sitting on the edge of the building, her legs hanging off the side, staring off into the distance. “She's unarmed...”

“Even better,” A2 hissed, still advancing on the other girl.

“She must have come here for a reason! If she's here to do anything to us, there's still two of us, so let's just...”

A2 sighed; he really was too kind-hearted for this world. She let her sword fall to her side, reluctantly.

“What do you want from us?” she asked.

“I don't _want_ anything,” replied the other android, not looking at them.

“Then why are you here?” asked 9S, in a quiet voice.

“To see how you're doing, I suppose,” 2B answered, in a faraway sounding voice.

“What does that matter? Where's... where's the other one?” 9S asked. It was still a jarring thought to him, that there was another 9S out there, maybe thinking the exact same thoughts as he was, at the exact same time – it genuinely unnerved him.

“... maintenance,” 2B said, after a pause.

“Right,” said 9S. He knew what that meant, now.

“Well,” said A2, pointedly, “as you can see, we're both doing peachy, so if you'd like to stroll off back to your YoRHa buddies –”

“You were gone a while,” 2B said, seemingly ignoring her. “Did you make this alarm?”

“Did you really come here to make small talk?” A2 said, demanding an answer.

2B turned for the first time, to look straight at 9S.

“Does she have to be here?”

A2 wanted to scream at her, or to lunge forward and punch her, straight in the face. She looked at 9S, his head pointed straight at the floor, then she looked over at 2B, who was now glaring right at her.

“It's up to you, Nines,” sighed A2, still clutching her sword. 2B remained mostly impassive, but visibly twitched when she heard her use that name.

“Yes,” stated 9S after a while, surprising them both, “she does have to be here.”

2B looked back to him, studying his features. She tilted her head to the side ever so slightly, trying to read him.

“Alright,” said A2 softly, sitting on the concrete behind him, her chin resting on her knees. No matter what his answer had been, she would never have deprived him of the chance to hear things directly from her, as much as she despised her for everything she'd done to him. She felt a great amount of warmth from what he _had_ chosen to say, though.

“It's not that I think you'll actually try anything, this time,” said 9S, staring straight at 2B now, “but you don't have the right to suggest she should be the one leaving.”

“I suppose I don't,” 2B muttered, quietly.

It hurt a part of him, a part of him he had almost forgotten, to be so cold to her, but he couldn't forget what he knew; he couldn't decide if that was a blessing or a curse right now, though. “So, you really didn't come here to kill me? Or A2?”

“You haven't had access to the YoRHa network for over two years,” 2B said. “That order isn't coming. As for her... I don't know for sure, but if I had to guess, I'd say Command is getting tired of the maintenance after tens of failed assassinations a month.”

Both A2 and 9S were taken aback by how blunt, and how open she was being. She was right, though – they hadn't had to deal with any YoRHa knocking on their figurative door in a while, now.

“As far as they're concerned,” 2B continued, “neither of you exist any more.”

“I guess that's... one good thing,” muttered 9S.

“Mm.”

“You didn't really just come here to check up on me, though, did you?”

“No, I didn't,” replied 2B.

“Then why? Don't you think you've done enough?” 9S said, his voice cracking a little. A2 stirred behind him. She wanted to hold his hand at the very least, but she kept herself still.

“I came... to apologise,” she said, her own voice wavering a little.

“Then you should apologise to the one that's waiting in his room on the Bunker, not me,” he said.

“Maybe you're right,” she replied, “but you know I can't do that by now, I assume.”

“Can't, or won't?”

“Can't,” she said, her voice now definitely giving away signs of pain.

“...why?”

“It's my fault you don't remember, but we made a promise once,” 2B began, taking a deep breath. She decided not to tell him what the promise was, but went on, “and I don't intend on breaking my side of it.”

He just looked at her, blankly. Whatever he'd said or done as any past iteration of himself may as well _not_ have been him, as far as he was concerned.

A2 spoke up, even though she felt she probably shouldn't.

“I had to be the one to tell him,” she said, a little resentfully. “I don't think an apology's gonna cut it for this. You didn't see him.”

“It's okay, A2,” said 9S, looking back at her. She looked up to meet his eyes. “It's fine, I can handle it.”

2B watched their interactions with curiosity. She wasn't jealous; that wasn't the feeling. She knew this 9S may as well be as dead as the rest – he was a dropped stitch in the pathetic little tapestry she was weaving for herself, and she had her own to go back to. She was just... interested. That infuriated her more than anything else. She didn't _want_ to be interested.

“Just let me say something to her – I promise, I won't yell,” A2 said. He nodded once, gently. “You know, maybe I'm the one being a hypocrite, here. I told him it was fine that he tried to kill me – that it was just his orders, and he didn't know enough to think any differently. So I'm thinking, maybe it's the same for you, too. Do they even let you in on _why_ you have to do it?”

“No,” she said, quietly, after a brief moment spent deep in thought.

“Doesn't it tear you apart, every single time?”

2B remained silent.

“Do you want my advice?”

“Try me.”

“Take him away from the Bunker, from YoRHa – tell him everything you know, and cry your fucking soul out in front of him. Let him know just how god-damn sorry you are. Let him know he fucking means something to you. Assuming that's all still true, anyway.”

It was a little strange for 9S to hear what was technically himself being discussed, but he didn't interrupt her. It was just... odd, thinking that there'd be a 9S that could still love 2B, live and breathe for 2B, and nothing else. But then, he thought, he was looking at it in a very human way. There was a reason he was _number_ 9, _type_ S. They weren't human. There very well could have been a hundred of him at once, all being used in the war, side by side. The only reason it felt strange to him was because of some arbitrary rule from Command, prohibiting the use of more than one of each unit at a time.

“They'd just hunt us down,” said 2B. She had considered it many, many times already.

“How do you know that? When they couldn't find me, they just made a new one, didn't they?” 9S asked, trying to sound objective. “Nobody's ever actually specifically come looking just for me.”

“Besides,” said A2, “it's not like it matters much, even if they did. Isn't the fact you're here, talking to us, right now, kind of a testament to that?”

2B turned to 9S first, and spoke softly. “We've known you were here with her, the whole time, though. Even I don't know why they didn't come for you. I waited for them to ask _me_ to do it, every day, but they never did.”

_Huh,_ thought 9S. That didn't add up, but he let her go on as she turned to A2.

“And I suppose you're right, but... I don't want to forget. One slip-up, and...”

“Welcome to a life without a thousand lives just waiting for you to step into them. It's a risk you take to be honest with yourself. Yeah, sure, if you bite it, that's it – so don't do that.”

“Why are you being this way with me?” 2B asked.

The truth was that A2 wasn't entirely sure why she was being so... well, not exactly kind, but benevolent, towards 2B. Perhaps she did see something of herself in her. Perhaps it was because she'd shown up unarmed, despite the risk to herself. Perhaps it really was 9S's influence on her. Either way, she had shown no ill intent, this time.

“Because... I'm not the same person you saw, back then. Things are different now,” she said. “They could be different for you, too.”

2B looked back up at the sky, at the clouds, before she spoke.

“9S...”

“What is it?” he replied quietly. After so long, it was strange to hear her say his name.

“Could you forgive me?”

It took him a moment to realise that she wasn't asking for _his_ forgiveness. She was simply asking if he had it in him to forgive her.

“I'm not sure,” he said, honestly. It was a little awkward to think about, given he was actually answering on someone else's behalf. “If you were honest from the start? And you looked like you meant everything you said? I... think it's possible, at least.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“Don't do anything stupid, though,” said A2. “If you do actually have the spine to go through with it, think it through, do it properly. Don't make it harder on yourself than you have to.”

“If I – he – doesn't remember anything, even you, then... you've got a lot of explaining to do,” 9S said, doing his utmost to not sound like he was detached from the subject matter. “I can tell you now, if you hold anything back, or you say it like you're gonna explode if you show him an emotion, it won't work out how you want it to.”

“I _am_ sorry, you know,” 2B said to him. “I'm sorry I could only tell you now. I know it's selfish.”

“It's cruel, truly, that you had to make these decisions, these choices, but... even if you do this now, it doesn't excuse it. We have free will for a reason, 2B,” he said, his voice shaky again. “But even if I – if I... can't forgive you, I... I understand, I think.”

A2 looked at him, listening closely to his words, and found herself wondering if she had changed him too, after all.

“Just promise me one thing, before you go,” said 9S. “Promise me, _promise_ , that you'll be honest with him, about everything, and I promise you that he'll return the gesture in kind.”

She smiled, perhaps for the first time that they had seen. “I promise.”

There was a pause, in which nobody said anything. The three of them simply looked from one to another.

“I guess we won't be seeing each other around any time soon, then,” 9S said. It was a bittersweet feeling.

“No, I suppose we won't,” she said, standing up for the first time.

“Well... take care of yourself,” he mumbled, making to walk past her to go downstairs, away from the situation, away from her.

It was A2 who had got up, and put her hand on his shoulder before he could disappear.

“Not like this, Nines. You'll regret it.”

“It's so messed up, A2... it's so messed up... I can't...”

“You can,” she whispered in his ear. “I'm here with you, okay?”

He pulled his visor down, and turned to face her, his eyes full of tears. She wiped the first one away with the back of her finger, as he had done for her, on a day that felt so, so long ago.

2B looked at him, sadly, and he turned to look at her, with A2's hand still on his shoulder.

“I'm still... losing a friend, no matter what changed since those days, you know?”

“I know,” said 2B. “I'm sorry.”

He took in a deep breath and sighed, perhaps harder, and deeper than he ever had before. It was a ragged, unsteady sound; it was painful to listen to.

“I do forgive you,” he said, tears flowing freely down his face, as he turned to walk away again. A2 let her hand slip from his shoulder, as he disappeared from view.

A2 bent down to the flowers she and 9S had picked together. She walked towards 2B, picked up her wrist in her hand, and placed a small, delicate white one in her palm, closing her fingers around it with her other hand.

“You had better treasure those words he just said to you,” she said.

“I plan on it,” whispered 2B. “Will you promise me something too, A2?”

“That depends on what it is,” she replied, eyebrows furrowing just the tiniest bit.

“Keep looking after him... please.”

“Oh, that I can promise,” said A2, sincerely, with everything she was, had been, and ever would be.

 


End file.
